Monday, December 20, 2010

I arrived in Penang at 5.30am on Saturday to join the Rock & Rock Run organised by Hard Rock Hotel. It's a 3.9km race. Rozmi, Tay Poh Chye, KK Yum and myself got the free bibs from friends who couldn't make it due to change of date in the event.

After the race, we had nasi kandar in town before heading to Cititel. After checking in, freshen up and rest for a while, we headed towards TESCO to buy some drinking water and isotonic drinks. Then headed to the hotel again to take a short break as we have been deprived of our precious sleep for the last 24 hours.

At 7.15pm, most runners already checked in to the hotel and headed out to look for food. By 9.00pm, all runners and support crews gathered at the hotel lobby for the briefing session and collecting their running bibs. Yes . . . there were many new faces and it's a get-to-know runners session as well.

Setting the right angle for photo session just before the briefing started. And of course we have our ever much loved and dedicated photograher with us for the entire race to capture those golden moments.

Yes, he is our favorite figure in the running scene known to the Pacemakers Network group as PM22 or PM Tey. And also being referred to by many as Gege Tey or Bro Tey, a great supporter for road races, Powerman, Trialthon, Biathlon, Ultramarathon and just any sports that you needed him to be there.

The very persons who are responsible to make this trip possible KK Yum (in blue) and Ronnie See (in red). Both took up the assignment to get all things in order. As usual, they will leave that 'dirty linen' job for me at the eleventh hour for the briefing. OK lah, since I have volunteer to be the support crew and cheerleading crew, I gladly accept the request.

As part of the get-to-know the runners, running bibs were distributed where team members get to really meet their own team mate in person.

Ahmad Lamchanak was pulled in at the eleventh hour also when 3 runners from the elite team pulled out just 3 days prior to race days.

Daniel Chow is the 1st runner in the Fun Team. Yeah .. .smile all you can Daniel, you gonna have a real shock later cos' that No. 1 come with great responsibility. . . hahahaaaa . . very soon you'll not be smiling ear to ear . ..

K2 Sze Yung Hui another new face on the block. Yup .. this is a test to this young runner about team work and a relay run.

And Jessa Singh holding K5 being the fifth runner for the fun team. He is quite relax cos being in the middle pack and quite an easy route, sure he can hang on there.

Yes, Dannie Choong as the 6th runner. Glad that he made it to Penang safely after all the hassle having his flight being delayed by FireFly, then being transfered to KLIA. And as he thought all thing smooth and on his way, again his flight was delayed till 3pm. Arrggghhhh. . . what a way to start and if he ever FFK (pulling out) from th team due to the flight delay, we'll surely sent a summon to FireFly. Yes, Pacemakers do have a handful of lawyers who are more than willing to file the case .. . Don't Play Play . . . .

Wong Choon Keong in the 8th posting. Another critical position to determine the positioning of his team. Runners in posting 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th played a very crucial role. We need runners who have strong mindset and able to withstand the long wait and hot weather.

We are indeed quite glad to have Rozmi Yunus from the Army Camp to be in our team taking on the hill and the heat for the Elite team.

And yes, Bryan Lee was also being pulled in last minutes after some runners fall out. He is a Powerman contender and we are indeed grateful that he is so ever willing to be at the 2nd last leg, not an easy task.

Mohammad Haris, a local as a reserved runner for the fun team with his wife and young child. He has been most helpful throughout the race to ensure the whole journey is smooth sailing as none in the Fun team are familiar with the island map.

Daniel Tan and YS Lee, two strong supporters of Pacemakers Team. Daniel in the Elite Team while YS Lee opted to be in the Fun Team.

Ricahrd Habeya . . . . asked the most QUESTIONS for the night. If there is such an award for that, I'll surely accord that to him. But then again, his questions always bring laughter and live up the atmosphere for the evening . . ..

This two pretty ladies Carrie and Pui San taking the opportunity to snap some pictures with our youngest and strongest supporter PM1.1 Adrian See.

Not sure if this is a road race briefing or a photography session or competition???? Ahhhhh . .. so . .. they are just being fascinated by that colourful birthday cake as the FINALE for the evening . .. . celebrating all the December Birthday's members . . ..

Before we adjourn for the evening, all runners were reminded to put in their best as team mate. And the favorite tagline and quotation for the race is -

Whether the team gonna have Rice, Porridge or just Plain water, depended on YOU.

This message was being pumped and drilled into each runner to do their best.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

I just can't believe what I just read in the article below on the statement made by BAM which is highlighted in RED.

Even the uncles and aunties in that favorite coffeeshop that I frequented see thru this long ago. All those in BAM and NSC should just resign and let more capable people to take over if we want to see real change and bring our sports to the next level!

Each time Lin Dan step in the court, one can see his confidence to take on his opponent but our dear Datuk Lee, his facial expression is enough to give him away . . . .

(The STAR - 7 Dec 2010)By RAJES PAUL

PETALING JAYA: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) believe they have ‘uncovered the truth’ behind world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei’s inability to get the better of Lin Dan.

They concluded that Chong Wei is not as fit and fast as the China shuttler.

No surprises there.

The only surprise is that it needed a post-mortem on the badminton team’s flop at the Guangzhou Asian Games to come to that conclusion!

Chong Wei lost to three-time world champion Lin Dan in the final of the Asiad.

The BAM feel that unless the Malaysian improves on his sustaining power on court, he will continue to struggle to overcome his nemesis Lin Dan.

BAM secretary Ng Chin Chai said that Chong Wei’s coaches had been asked to take another look at his fitness training programme.

“We discussed in depth Chong Wei’s loss to Lin Dan. He played well and had some tricks up his sleeves, especially with his deceptive chops. But, in the rubber game, it was obvious that Chong Wei simply ran out of gas,” said Chin Chai.

“He has to be fitter in order to match Lin Dan. The coaches will work together with the NSI (National Sports Institute) staff to help him last longer on court.”

The duo’s rivalry is expected to continue in the final-leg of the Super Series at the Hong Kong Open, which will begin tomorrow.

With Lin Dan in the fray, the odds are – surprise, surprise – stacked against the Malaysian to win.

Top seed Chong Wei is in the same half as compatriot Mohd Hafiz Hashim, Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark, world champion Chen Jin and Lin Dan.

Chong Wei is expected to take on Hafiz in the second round. Then, he will probably be up against Chen Jin, followed by Lin Dan in the semi-final.

Lin Dan, however, has a tricky opening tie against Jorgensen.

In the bottom half of the draw, the battle will be among a small group of players comprising China Open champion Chen Long of China, Indonesian Taufik Hidayat and Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana.

Chin Chai also said that there was still room for improvement among the elite shuttlers – Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and Wong Mew Choo – in the men’s doubles and women’s singles events respectively.

He said that the coaches had been instructed to look into adding more variety to their game “so that their styles will not be predictable”.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong squandered two gold medal match points en route to losing to Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia in the final while Mew Choo gave a good fight before bowing out to Japan’s Eriko Hirose in the quarter-finals.

All three will be out to make a quick rebound at the Hong Kong Open.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong will take on Denmark’s Mads Conrads-Petersen-Jonas Rasmussen while Mew Choo has a tough opener against South Korean Bae Youn-joo in their opening matches tomorrow.